Sounds of Their Souls
by Sable-Reiver
Summary: IU Stand-Alone Oneshots about the in-universe lives of our favourite boys; Multiple pairings. Rated T for possible coarse language and sexual references. And yes, it is simply a coincidence that they are all based off of songs.
1. (So)Riku: Some Nights

"_Take care of her…"_

Riku watched, holding his smile, trying to sear those blue eyes into his mind as the doors to Kingdom Hearts shut behind him.

Then, there was only darkness.

He found Mickey, somehow, and the two fought against the never-ending waves of Heartless. Too soon his arms tired. Too soon Riku gasped for breath, but he didn't stop. It was only the beginning of the ceaseless vigil he had committed himself to, and if he gave up so early on, there really wouldn't be any hope.

* * *

Mickey was gone.

They'd fought as close to the doors as they could, for as long as they could, it being the only thing that still stood stark against the endless void. But the King's presence had dwindled until he was only a voice in the shadows, urging Riku to keep going. It had been the only tangible thing left that had kept him going.

And now, he was denied even that much.

Was there even a point any more, staying close to the no-way-out of Kingdom Hearts? There wasn't any opening of those doors, not from either side. But it felt like the only connection he still had to his life, and his friends. Hopeless as his situation was, Riku couldn't abandon it.

* * *

Time passed without rhyme or reason. Sometimes, it felt like weeks had passed. Others, barely minutes. Enveloped in such complete darkness, it wasn't surprising that Riku lost more battles than he won. But he took the hits from the waves of Heartless and kept going, pushing his luck.

Sometimes it made Riku laugh, that this was the world he'd chosen. He'd given up everything; his home, his parents, his friends, for _this. _He'd wanted something…different. The Darkness came, and it was his _chance_, at something away from such regularity.

But he'd courted a fickle lady with Fate, trying to screw with his, trying to change it. And now he was stuck.

* * *

The door was gone, and a strange, lost feeling had settled in its place.

With nothing to ground him, it was hard to tell where he was, which way was up, and what he was fighting, if anything, any more. The eyes of the Heartless were gone, leaving only shifting shadows for him to slash futilely at. What difference was he making?

But that feeling hadn't come alone. It had brought hallucinations along with it.

More than once, Riku had thought he'd seen Sora, back pressed against his and smiling like the sun as he helped with the enemies that weren't quite there. The silverette would be happy, until he remembered that sight had no place in such darkness, and the image would fade, leaving him alone and far more desolate than before.

But Riku grit his teeth and bore it every single time, simply turning back to the whisper of death and striking it in the face, trying to remember what Destiny Islands looked like; the sun on his face, the whisper of the waves…the calls of his friends.

* * *

Exhaustion came and went with the same frequency as the shadows that blurred everywhere. What he was fighting any more, he didn't know, but there was a purpose to it. Something. Something that had to do with his last few remaining memories.

On the worst days, the ones where he just _couldn't_, the ones where he felt like he was more a figment than a person, Riku wondered if Sora had forgotten about him. Deep in his heart, he knew that his friend hadn't, but he couldn't help it. Was the boy better off without him? Happier? Did he even remember his friend who had stepped through those doors, left Kairi to him, and had smiled through the worst pain he'd ever experienced, because he _knew _he couldn't go back? Did he remember?

Riku was scared that it might not've been true.

* * *

Waves. Waves of shadow. Pain. Exhaustion. This was his life. He didn't know why, or what for, but he'd been doing it for as far back as the scattered wisps of his memory could gather. It seemed like this was what it had always been. Just….nothing.

Twin pools…filled with something he could no longer name. Something that made him feel…different. Better. Like maybe everything wasn't pointless…like he was weightless and untired. They came, and he was always thankful when they did. Just glimpsing their vastness had something within him fluttering, and it made him stand and fight when he couldn't. Something. Something about them was important. There was never anything that came with those two depths, but he felt like nothing else was needed.

So he pushed, for faith. Faith in that…_warmth_.

That's it. They were warm…

Right?

* * *

Pinpricks of light. Millions of them.

What was happening? A vision? Hallucination?

_Warmth_. The only thing left. Warmth from those lights. Why?

Twin pools. Warmth from them too. A lighter feeling. Breathless.

_Why?_

…

Wait.

NO.

Why.

Why was it leaving?

Why was the warmth seeping away?

Why had those pools frozen over?

Come back.

Don't look like that…

…_Please…_

…_..don't leave…_

…_...don't leave me…_

…_.why…._

* * *

Eyes snapped open, gasping.

Alone.

No…not alone.

…

A light?

Warm…

His…hand?

He could….see?

Riku plummeted back into himself, heart pounding. But the light hadn't disappeared.

Frowning at it, the boy pushed himself up, forcing himself closer to it.

Memories flooded back. The island. Tidus. Wakka. Selphie. King Mickey…Maleficient…the other worlds.

_Sora_.

Riku laughed through his tears as the light engulfed him.

Maybe now…

Maybe now he could go _back_.

-_Sable_


	2. So(Riku): The Prayer

Riku was missing.

Sora had watched the door shut - _had pushed it closed himself_ - and now his best friend was lost.

But…somehow…he wasn't gone.

More than once, the sky-eyed boy had felt something. It was a feeling he couldn't describe…all he knew was that it seemed to wrap him in a warm blanket. A familiar one, though he'd never felt this way before… Goofy and Donald had commented on how sometimes, he would just stop and space and sigh, like everything was alright.

This feeling, he'd found, came when he was at his worst, when he wasn't sure what to do or where to go next. It reassured him. Made him feel safe. Utterly. And in worlds still filled with horrors, _that_ was something that Sora cherished.

But what was it? He really didn't understand. Maybe…maybe a kind of…_faith_…

One night, laying in a field and looking up at the stars, Sora thought of his friend. Trapped in such an awful place…how could anyone survive that? Come out intact? The doubts never managed to stick where the melancholy did; if anyone could make it, Riku could. Even as stars winked back into existence, and others were extinguished, he knew the boy would be alright. _He had to be_.

The only other time Sora could remember that comfort coming was when he had been fighting stray Heartless. He'd thought, with the gates closed and Ansem gone, there wouldn't be so many left. But the hoard they'd found was too strong; even between the three of them, they were floundering.

Sora had been desperate for a way, some way to protect what he had left. That feeling had engulfed him, and inexplicably, he _knew_ what to do. The path was as clear as if it had been in front of him. The three of them had made it out with little trouble after that. Goofy and Donald had praised him, and while he accepted the words, he knew it was wrong. It hadn't been him.

Finally, he'd gone back to Destiny Island. And things had changed.

Selphie and Tidus had gotten together, and even Kairi was beginning to warm to a boy on the mainland. Things seemed to be going…well. And Sora was happy for them. But amidst all of their happiness, he felt despondent. An outsider. An intruder in their worlds. His only solace was the embrace of that warmth, which managed to find him no matter where he went, no matter how far. But still, he had no idea where it had even come from.

Until, one night, it hit him. Lying in bed, eyes glazed over as he tried to imitate the feeling, and what it caused in him, Sora realized just _why_ it was so familiar. The revelation brought tears to his eyes even as his mouth fell open in a silent gasp, hands falling from behind his head to clutch at the fabric over his stomach. A desperate grip.

It was Riku. It was the exact same sensation he got whenever he was near the man. It was the _same feeling_ that he got, whenever he hugged his best friend.

And that's how he knew. Because through the tears and the butterflies and the dizzying heartache that constricted in his chest so tightly he thought he might burst, he realized that Riku had never left him. Somehow, _some way_, he managed to be with the brunette every step from the moment that door closed. And it _hurt_, knowing that he was there, looking after Sora as he always had, comforting and protecting and helping, and he hadn`t recognized it. But now…

Now, when that feeling came, somehow softer than before, like it knew, like _Riku_ knew that he`d been found out and was both hesitant and accepting…Sora had to stop and breathe. Kairi would ask what was wrong, and he could only shake his head and blink back the threatening tears.

The day that familiar embrace settled into his heart and didn`t leave, was the same day he was whisked away to an ivory Castle of distant things. And Sora smiled, knowing he would see Riku again.

-_Sable_


	3. AkuRoku: Caledonia

Sometimes, missions for the Organization were brutal. Sometimes, they dragged on for what felt like ages. Especially when it required infiltration of 'enemy ranks'. In other words, befriending the kids in Twilight Town.

Towards the end of the mission, Roxas knew he had slipped more than once. Singing a song Axel had made up one day, telling stories about him and Xion and the other worlds…it had been a danger, and the group had noticed the strange behaviour. The way he was more…distant. Like he was longing to be somewhere else. With other people.

He'd been thinking about Axel a lot more, missing the man with a fierceness that surprised him. But it just further served to concrete the point he'd proved a long time ago; he didn't need a heart to feel. Homesickness wracked him daily; home was with Axel, and that's where he wanted to be. Simple as that.

The abrupt departure, the blonde was sure, had lost him the few friends he'd made. He'd even kissed Olette, just to see. Probably left her crying, too. Guilt was still something new to him, but it was there. He was sure some dreams had followed him away, but was even more sure his keyblade had stolen more dreams from the Heartless than he had from those people...his friends. A small consolation, one that rung hollow.

Sitting with Axel, back in the Castle, Roxas wondered about his adventure. He'd learned a few things, had discovered many more. One of these things was what he felt for the man sitting next to him. But how could he put it into words, when the redhead still believed they needed hearts to feel? How much had changed since he'd been gone?

"Axel…I…" What could he say? His friend beat him to it.

"You've become a stranger Roxas."

The blonde blinked, uncertain – _scared_ – of what he'd just heard. "Huh?"

Axel smirked, the expression only vaguely reassuring to the sky-depth eyes that stared up at him. "You never used to hesitate."

Roxas scowled. Of course the guy just had to tease him. But as always, Axel knew what he was doing; the taunt had been just enough to give a push to the words he knew the smaller boy wanted to say.

"I love you. And I think about you…all the time." He blurted, confidence failing after the first sentence had left his mouth. Worry seeped in; how would Axel react?

But the smirk never left. No…it just softened, and Roxas was levelled with a look he'd never seen before. Not from the jubilantly sarcastic spark sitting next to him.

"You've been everything I've ever had Rox, from the day we met. Even without a heart, I know that much. Can't say I'm much surprised."

Roxas grinned. Maybe things hadn't changed so much after all; it was still _impossible _to shock Axel.

-_Sable_


End file.
